In many facilities, fire prevention is a very important consideration. For facilities that are very expensive, such as oil rigs, refineries, chemical factories, offshore platforms, methanol storage tank storage platforms, or aircraft carriers, quickly controlling a fire may be imperative to prevent destruction of the facility or costly repairs. For facilities used to store expensive equipment, such as aircraft hangars, helipads, or other fueling bays, an uncontrolled fire may cause extremely expensive damage in very short order.
Because many of these facilities also contain flammable or combustible liquids such as fuel, the risk of a fire rapidly spreading as spilled fluid flows along the floor may be enormous. Although drainage systems may allow flammable or combustible fluids to be safely collected, they do nothing to prevent the fluid already on the floor from being ignited. For example, aircraft hangars typically have sloped floors, allowing any spilled fluids to drain or be washed into a trench drain, typically positioned at the hangar door. If fuel or another flammable or combustible liquid is spilled, although it will drain, upon ignition, the entire fuel-exposed floor area may ignite, spreading fire across large areas of the floor very quickly.
Simply speaking, an open-air fire requires three elements to be sustained. The so-called “fire triangle” requires fuel, oxygen, and heat to create and sustain a fire. The removal of any leg of the triangle will prevent a fire from burning. Typical fire suppression systems, such as those used in hangars and other facilities, seek to remove oxygen or heat from an already burning fire. Typical fire suppression systems may include foam fire suppression systems, water sprinklers, water deluge systems, etc. However, rather than preventing a fluid-fueled fire from spreading, such systems typically rely on engulfing any burning materials to stop their burning. However, as they are inherently retroactive, damage can be incurred before they are triggered. Fluid that has not yet ignited may easily spread across a floor before being ignited. Upon ignition, a large area may be quickly engulfed in flames. Furthermore, cleanup costs from a triggered foam suppression system as well as costs to recharge such a system may be great.